One of the factors that is analyzed in trying to increase gas turbine efficiency, performance, and reliability is compressor fouling. Compressor fouling is caused by contaminants, such as oil, particulates, and harmful chemicals, which are ingested in the turbine. These contaminants, if not properly removed, result in efficiency losses and cause corrosion. Corrosion is one of the leading causes of gas turbine failure.
Currently, gas turbine compressors are cleaned using a water wash process that injects water and detergent through an inlet of the gas turbine at low spinning speeds. This process only cleans forward compressor stages, due to the required water nozzle pressure. Further, this process only cleans the exposed side (suction side) of the blades (i.e., airfoils). Due to heavy deposits on the blades that were not removed from the water wash method, extensive field corrosion inspections could not reveal whether the airfoil surface was corroded, since the airfoil surfaces is not cleaned effectively from the water wash.